CIS Tower
Encyclopedia
The Co-operative Insurance Tower, or CIS Tower, is an office tower building on Miller Street in Manchester
, England. It was completed in 1962 and rises to 387 feet (118 m) in height. The Grade II listed building, which houses Co-operative Financial Services, a part of The Co-operative Group
, is Manchester's second-tallest building and the tallest office building outside London. The tower remained as built for over 40 years until maintenance issues on the service tower required an extensive renovation. The renovation included covering its facade
in solar cells.
It was designed by Gordon Tait
of Burnett, Tait & Partners and Co-operative's own architect, G. S. Hay. In the 1990s, it was granted Grade II listed building status by English Heritage
. The tower, described as "the best of the Manchester 1960s office blocks", was listed for its "discipline and consistency". It is part of a group with New Century House and its Conference Hall on Corporation Street. The tower's design was influenced by Skidmore Owings & Merrill's Inland Steel Building
in Chicago after a visit by the architects in 1958.
In 1962, at 387 feet, the CIS Tower overtook the Shell Centre
as the tallest building in the United Kingdom, a title it retained for a year until it was replaced by the Millbank Tower
in London. In 2006 the Beetham Tower
became the tallest building in Manchester.
block. It has a steel
frame and glass curtain wall
s with metal window frames. Black vitreous enamel
panels demarcate the floor levels. The building materials, glass, enamelled steel and aluminium, were chosen so that the building could remain clean in the polluted Manchester atmosphere. The tower's concrete service shaft, which rises above the office tower, has two bands of vents at the top and was clad in a mosaic made up of 14 million centimetre-square, grey tessera
e designed to shimmer and sparkle. The projecting reinforced concrete
service shaft houses lifts and emergency stairs.
The ground floor is set back behind six pillars. A green bronze
-like, abstract mural
sculpted by William George Mitchell made from fibreglass covers the entrance hall's rear wall. The building has 700,000 square feet of floor area with clear open spaces on the office floors. Interiors were designed by Misha Black
of the Design Research Unit
. The executive areas are delineated by the use of teak
and cherry wood veneer
s.
s in the concrete. Although the tower was granted listed building status in 1995 falling tiles was an ongoing problem. English Heritage
had to be consulted as alterations could change the building's appearance.
In 2004 CIS consulted Solarcentury
with a view to replacing the deteriorating mosaic with blue building-integrated photovoltaic (PV) cells which would provide a permanent green solution which generated approximately 180,000 units of electricity per year. The work was completed by Arup
and at that time was the largest commercial solar façade in Europe. The PV cells were made by Sharp Electronics and began feeding electricity to the National Grid in November 2005. The project, which cost £5.5 million, was partly funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency
which granted £885,000 and the Energy Savings Trust at the Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI) contributed £175,000. The solar power project was chosen by the DTI as one of the "10 best green energy projects" of 2005. Out of sight on the roof are 24 wind turbines generating 10% of the tower's electricity.
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England. It was completed in 1962 and rises to 387 feet (118 m) in height. The Grade II listed building, which houses Co-operative Financial Services, a part of The Co-operative Group
The Co-operative Group
The Co-operative Group Ltd. is a United Kingdom consumer cooperative with a diverse range of business interests. It is co-operatively run and owned by its members. It is the largest organisation of this type in the world, with over 5.5 million members, who all have a say in how the business is...
, is Manchester's second-tallest building and the tallest office building outside London. The tower remained as built for over 40 years until maintenance issues on the service tower required an extensive renovation. The renovation included covering its facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
in solar cells.
Background
The tower was designed as a prestige headquarters to showcase the Co-operative movement in Manchester. In 1958 the company proposed building an office tower block, construction began the following year and was completed in 1962.It was designed by Gordon Tait
Gordon Tait
Gordon Thomas Tait was a British architect, active in London.Tait was the eldest son of Scottish architect Thomas Smith Tait and Constance Hardy. He abandoned a career as a sculptor to follow in his father's footsteps. Between 1930 and 1935 he studied at the Architectural Association in London,...
of Burnett, Tait & Partners and Co-operative's own architect, G. S. Hay. In the 1990s, it was granted Grade II listed building status by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
. The tower, described as "the best of the Manchester 1960s office blocks", was listed for its "discipline and consistency". It is part of a group with New Century House and its Conference Hall on Corporation Street. The tower's design was influenced by Skidmore Owings & Merrill's Inland Steel Building
Inland Steel Building
The Inland Steel Building, located at 30 W. Monroe Street in Chicago, is one of the city's defining commercial high-rises of the post-World War II era of modern architecture. It was built in the years 1956–1957 and was the first skyscraper to be built in the Chicago Loop following the Great...
in Chicago after a visit by the architects in 1958.
In 1962, at 387 feet, the CIS Tower overtook the Shell Centre
Shell Centre
Shell Centre, in London, United Kingdom is one of the two "central offices" of oil major Shell .Shell Centre is located on the Belvedere Road in the London Borough of Lambeth...
as the tallest building in the United Kingdom, a title it retained for a year until it was replaced by the Millbank Tower
Millbank Tower
Millbank Tower is a high skyscraper in the City of Westminster at Millbank, on the banks of the River Thames in London, in the United Kingdom. The Tower was constructed in 1963 for Vickers and was originally known as Vickers Tower. It was designed by Ronald Ward and Partners and built by John...
in London. In 2006 the Beetham Tower
Beetham Tower, Manchester
Beetham Tower is a landmark 47-storey residential skyscraper in Manchester city centre, England. Completed in 2006, it is named after the developers, Beetham Organization, was designed by Ian Simpson, and built by Carillion....
became the tallest building in Manchester.
Architecture
The office tower building rises above a five-storey podiumPodium
A podium is a platform that is used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek πόδι In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podia can also be used to raise people, for instance the conductor of an orchestra stands on a podium as do many...
block. It has a steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
frame and glass curtain wall
Curtain wall
A curtain wall is an outer covering of a building in which the outer walls are non-structural, but merely keep out the weather. As the curtain wall is non-structural it can be made of a lightweight material reducing construction costs. When glass is used as the curtain wall, a great advantage is...
s with metal window frames. Black vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...
panels demarcate the floor levels. The building materials, glass, enamelled steel and aluminium, were chosen so that the building could remain clean in the polluted Manchester atmosphere. The tower's concrete service shaft, which rises above the office tower, has two bands of vents at the top and was clad in a mosaic made up of 14 million centimetre-square, grey tessera
Tessera
A tessera is an individual tile in a mosaic, usually formed in the shape of a cube. It is also known as an abaciscus, abaculus, or, in Persian کاشي معرق. In antiquity, mosaics were formed from naturally colored pebbles, but by 200 BC purpose-made tesserae were being used...
e designed to shimmer and sparkle. The projecting reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
service shaft houses lifts and emergency stairs.
The ground floor is set back behind six pillars. A green bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
-like, abstract mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
sculpted by William George Mitchell made from fibreglass covers the entrance hall's rear wall. The building has 700,000 square feet of floor area with clear open spaces on the office floors. Interiors were designed by Misha Black
Misha Black
Sir Misha Black was an Azerbaijan-born British architect and designer. In 1933 he founded with associates in London the organisation which became the Artists’ International Association. From 1959 to 1975 he was a professor of industrial design at the Royal College of Art in London, England...
of the Design Research Unit
Design Research Unit
The Design Research Unit was one of the first generation of British design consultancies combining expertise in architecture, graphics and industrial design. It was founded by the managing director of Stuart's Advertising Agency, Marcus Brumwell with Misha Black and Milner Gray in 1943...
. The executive areas are delineated by the use of teak
Teak
Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...
and cherry wood veneer
Veneer
A veneer is a thin covering over another surface. More specifically, it may refer to:* Wood veneer, a term used in architecture and woodworking...
s.
Renovation
Within six months of construction some of the mosaic tiles on the service tower became detached due to cement failure and lack of expansion jointExpansion joint
An expansion joint or movement joint is an assembly designed to safely absorb the heat-induced expansion and contraction of various construction materials, to absorb vibration, to hold certain parts together, or to allow movement due to ground settlement or earthquakes...
s in the concrete. Although the tower was granted listed building status in 1995 falling tiles was an ongoing problem. English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
had to be consulted as alterations could change the building's appearance.
In 2004 CIS consulted Solarcentury
Solarcentury
Solarcentury is a business which designs and installs solar systems for buildings in the UK and continental Europe, and provides wholesale solar products.- History :...
with a view to replacing the deteriorating mosaic with blue building-integrated photovoltaic (PV) cells which would provide a permanent green solution which generated approximately 180,000 units of electricity per year. The work was completed by Arup
Arup
Arup is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom which provides engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of the built environment. The firm is present in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, East Asia, Europe and the...
and at that time was the largest commercial solar façade in Europe. The PV cells were made by Sharp Electronics and began feeding electricity to the National Grid in November 2005. The project, which cost £5.5 million, was partly funded by the Northwest Regional Development Agency
Northwest Regional Development Agency
The Northwest Regional Development Agency is the regional development agency for the North West England region and is a non-departmental public body.....
which granted £885,000 and the Energy Savings Trust at the Department of Trade and Industry
Department of Trade and Industry
The Department of Trade and Industry was a United Kingdom government department which was replaced with the announcement of the creation of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills on 28 June 2007.-History:The...
(DTI) contributed £175,000. The solar power project was chosen by the DTI as one of the "10 best green energy projects" of 2005. Out of sight on the roof are 24 wind turbines generating 10% of the tower's electricity.
See also
- Building-integrated photovoltaics
- List of tallest buildings and structures in Manchester